Vitaly
|General}} /Trivia|Trivia}} /BTS|Behind Scenes}} /Quotes|Quotes}} /Photos|Photos}} /Other|Other}} }} History Born and raised in Circus Zaragoza, Vitaly, the macho Russian Tiger, grew up to be the star-performer because of his act in jumping through hoops with such grace and speed it was as if he were flying, constantly pushing how far he could go by using increasingly smaller rings to jump through. One performance he went too far - He set up a ring so small it could be used as a pinky-ring, and even had it set on fire. He lubricated himself with olive oil, apparently unaware that the substance was highly flammable. The resulting performance was a disaster: Vitaly (temporarily) lost his fur (which had always been soft but grew back rough and bristly, like a prickly beard), but worse, he lost his confidence, his dignity, and his passion. He became bitter, stopped taking risks, and drowned his sorrows in borscht soup. And to add insult (or rather, heartbreak) to injury, Vitaly's wife left him and ran off with a musician. Because their star performer, the very source of their inspiration, had lost his passion, so did the rest of the circus animals, and Circus Zaragoza soon fell into a rut, with lousy performances that no one wanted to see. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted It's unknown how long this rut lasted, but Vitaly's world was turned upside-down by a bunch of strange animals, led by a a lion whom he did not trust. Initially, he did not let them aboard the circus train, stating it was "for circus animals only". He argued with his friends, Gia and Stefano, the former eventually allowing the strangers aboard. When Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman expressed an interest in accompanying the circus through Europe to their American Tour, Vitaly instantly wanted them gone, stating the circus owners would not allow stowaways, but thankfully, the Penguins and Chimps, using a human disguise, purchased the circus, which the owners were all too happy to sell. On their first stop in Rome, the newcomers got a taste of what they were working with and saw the disaster of a performance the circus animals gave to the audience. Taking a stop in the Alps, Alex gave everyone an inspiring speech, which convinced the circus animals to try an all-new circus, an all-animal circus. Vitaly was against the idea, stating the circus had long perfromed traditional entertainment, but Gia and Stefano managed to convince him to try and rediscover his passion, and that circus always stick together, and in turn Vitaly conceded to jump through one hoop. However, the night before their London Performance, Vitaly, in his car, opend his old cabinet which contained all his rings and hoops from his old act. But had a flashback of that night that ruined his life, and got coldfeet. On the night of the performance, Vitaly intended to leave, thinking the circus wouldn't need him, until Alex gave him a pep-talk that helped Vitaly remember why he had performed his old act- He'd enjoyed doing the impossible, and vowed to do it again, even if it meant going down in flames. At Alex's suggestion, Vitaly used non-flammable conditioner shampoo as a lubricant, and successfully pulled off the very stunt he'd failed long ago, and at long last truly rediscovered his passion. Seeing Vitaly succeed in the opening act gave the rest of the circus animals the inspiration they'd almost forgotten and together with the new additions, they pulled off the most spectacular show they'd ever done. When the show was over, Vitaly proudly proclaimed Alex to be "more circus than any circus that had ever circused in the circus". However, the happy moment was ruined by the arrival of Captain Chantel DuBois, who revealed that Alex, as well as Marty, Gloria, and Melman, were zoo animals, and demanded their custody. The Penguins managed to get rid of her but the damage was done; Vitaly and the circus animals realized that Alex had lied to them, about being circus animals and his so-called trapeze acts, and felt used when Alex admitted they'd wanted to join the circus to make it back to New York. As a result, the circus animals shunned the zoosters, and although they got the American Tour, everyone was disheartened. Vitaly tried to raise everyone's spirts by vowing they'd never go back to the way they were, but realized that despite the lies, Alex and the Zoosters had helped them rediscover their passion, made them happier than they'd been in a long time, and had truly bonded with them all, as friends, as a family, as circus. They learned from Julien that Dubois had captured the Zoosters and set out to rescue them. They arrived at Central ark Zoo, and made it in time to stop Dubois from discreetly killing Alex and free the zoosters whom they freed but Stefano was in danger of Dubois. Working together, the zoosters-turned-circus animals and their friends foiled Dubois and offered them to join Circus Zaragoza. With the entire gang back together, they rode off in their train to carry on with their American Tour, the entire gang singing "Circus Afro". Personality Vitaly was originally the most passionate performer in Circus Zaragoza, and was the source of inspiration to his fellow circus animals. He enjoyed performing his act, taking risks, and doing the impossible, and hearing the applause of the crowd. But Vitaly kept pushing it, showing he didn't know when to stop, which is partly the reason for his fall from grace though more so it was the fact he hadn't known his original lubricant, olive oil, was flammable. After the fire-hoop incident, Vitaly grew bitter, stopped taking risks, and drowned his sorrows and self-pity in borscht soup, and would sometimes use his knife-throwing skills to intimidate others. A staunch traditionalist, Vitaly was against the idea of changing the circus, dueto him and his fellow peformers giving classic family entertainment for generations. He did not trust Alex and his friends, and made it clear several times he wanted them gone. But he was willing to try for his friends after Alex gave an inspiring speech to the rest of the cirus animals. When Vitaly got coldfeet, Alex helped him remember why he had performed his act - Because he liked doing the impossible, which is why the audience liked it. Upon successfully performing the same stunt he originally failed, Vitaly's passion and confidence was at long last restored, and proudly accepted Alex and the others as members of the circus, but was disheartened to learn of Alex's lies and felt used. At their next performance, though he was down, Vitaly tried to pep everyone up, vowing they would never go back to the way they were. But Stefano and Gia helped him realize they owed their restored passion to the zoosters, and bravely helped rescue them. This showed that Vitaly is more forgiving than his attitude gives him credit for. As rough as he is around the edges, Vitaly cares for the circus like a family, and grew to accept Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman as members of his family. Skills Born and raised a circus performer, Vitaly has years of practice in several circus-relating performing arts, notably his hoop-jumping. He also has some acrobatic skills, utilizing cartwheels, backflips, even axle-spinning when he leaps through hoops. As a professional, he is able to leap through increasingly smaller hoops with his skils but requires a lubricant to leap through hoops that would otherwise be considered phyically impossible, which is his style, doing the impossible. He's even jumped through a keyhole. Vitaly is also a skilled knife-thrower (though he's used other bladed weapons) but mostly uses the skill to intimidate others. ---- RETURN TO |General}} /Trivia|Trivia}} /BTS|Behind Scenes}} /Quotes|Quotes}} /Photos|Photos}} /Other|Other}} }} ---- REFERENCE SECTION ---- Category:Characters